If you’re just as worried about your own image as the image quality produced by your camera, the just-announced Fujifilm XF1 could kill two birds with one stone. The new premium point-and-shoot camera is available in three faux-leather-covered body styles (black, brown, and red) that will add a touch of class to your photo endeavours.
From the looks of its specifications, the Fujifilm XF1 backs up its fashionable looks with some higher-end hardware, as well. The camera’s F1.8 lens should make it a solid performer in low-light settings, and the XF’s 12-megapixel, 2/3-inch-type CMOS sensor is the same size as the one found in the Fujifilm X10. That makes the sensor slightly larger than the ones found in other premium compact cameras such as the Canon PowerShot S110, Panasonic Lumix LX7, and Samsung EX2F.
At 4.2 inches wide, 2.4 inches tall, and 1.2 inches deep, it’s one of the skinnier premium compacts out there, too. It’s close to the same size as the Nikon Coolpix P310, which means it’s truly pocket-size.
Despite that small size, the XF1 has dedicated knobs and buttons for many of its extensive in-camera features, which include manual exposure controls, aperture- and shutter-priority modes, ISO settings that reach up to 12,800, and a burst mode that snaps 7fps at full resolution or 10fps at reduced resolution. Physical controls include a thumb-operated scroll wheel on the back for adjusting aperture and shutter settings and a mode dial on the top of the camera, along with a unique take on the camera’s zoom-lens controls that eliminates the need for a traditional zoom toggle.
The camera’s zoom controls let you operate the camera’s mechanically stabilized 4X optical zoom lens (25mm to 100mm) by twisting a ring around the lens barrel with your hand. That zoom-control ring is also used to turn the camera on and off.
Other key features include 1080p video recording at 30fps, a motion-controlled panorama mode, a menu of creative filter effects, a pop-up flash, and RAW and RAW+JPEG shooting. Macro performance also looks like a strong suit, as Fujifilm lists the XF1’s minimum focus distance at an inch away from the lens.
The Fujifilm XF1 is slated for availability in October at $500.